It was the stone that rocked the nation. It became the national symbol for corruption, the sign of opulence and while the people starved, Rosmah ate cake. It was the in-your-face audacity of Barisan Nasional’s greed and arrogance and the symbol of the 1MDB scandal.
Lim Kit Siang wrote about it many times. DAP’s mouthpieces Sarawak Report and MalaysiaKini published articles after articles about it. Anil Netto wrote about it. Mahathir talked about it. Tony Pua did a sketch on it and DAP’s propaganda artist Zunar, drew countless peaces on it. Blog posts were written about it. People shared about it on WhatsApp and Facebook and tweeted about it, especially before GE14.
It was the stone that handed Pakatan Harapan their seats in Putrajaya. Most importantly however, now it seems, it was all a lie.
Zunars Pink Diamond Cartoon 
Tony Puas Pink Diamond Sketch 
Students protesting the diamond 
Pakatan Harapan using Pink Diamond symbol in their talks on kleptocracy
The claim was, Rosmah Mansor, wife of Najib Razak bought the jewellery with money “stolen” from 1MDB. Now it has been confirmed that the jewellery was brought into the country for viewing and subsequently brought out. There was no sale. The items were declared with Royal Malaysian Customs Department entering and exiting the country.
Void of clear policies on governance, DAP had always bet its appeal and support on sensational items and personal attacks on Barisan Nasional and namely Najib and Rosmah. Creating and sensationalising perception of fear, uncertainty and doubt was a quick and dirty way to gain attention and popularity. And it worked.
The fact that Rosmah said she did not buy the diamond only made them attack further. Denial is an admission of guilt. Keeping quiet is an admission of guilt. Not suing libel and slander is an admission of guilt.
The damage of the accusations were damaging with Barisan Nasional spectacularly losing the last general election sending shockwaves across the world. Months after the election the public were asking about 1MDB and the pink diamond.
Many were wondering why the Pakatan Harapan government was so slow in addressing the readily available copious evidence on kleptocracy of global proportions.
The real question is that needs to be asked about Pakatan Harapan is not “what did they lie about/” but “how much did they lie?” How much of “1MDB scandal” is a lie ? And as more of these lies are exposed, it will hit Pakatan Harapan where it hurts most – their support base. Voters have already punished twice at Cameron Highlands and Semenyih and are likely to do the same in Rantau.
One thing for sure, Pakatan Harapan is more than likely to be a one term only government – one that was made up of lies and untruths.
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